Another Christmas Day!

Sue returned last night from her family Christmas in London, so as we spent December 25th apart, today will be OUR Christmas Day together! Hooray! Pressies! (And maybe a photo or two later...)

Christmas Greetings!

Wishing all our readers a very Happy Christmas, with just a few photographs taken earlier today:

Gesto Bay

Natural ice sculpture at Sligachan

and finally, Christmas Eve sunset from Roskhill

More snow....

It's going to be one of those winters, isn't it?

Everyone in the UK will be fully aware that we have all had a significant dollop of the cold white stuff again. This time, it seems likely to be hanging around for quite a while, though there are no further significant falls due in the near future, so Sue should be OK getting down to London for her family Christmas. She sets off by coach tomorrow afternoon.

I will be staying on Skye with the elderly Basil, and even have B&B guests to look after one day this week!

Here's a couple of pictures taken yesterday -

one in the morning... 

... and one in the afternoon -

Walking again!

At last I've made the time to have a walk in the hills - and in the snow too! I finished the decorating at Aird View, so while I was still there, I spent a few hours on Ben Lee which overlooks the Braes. That's An Aird in the middle of this picture, with Raasay in the background. 

(Throughout this blog - click on any picture to see it full size. Use your 'back' button to get back to the blog).

There were huge snow showers racing past - but the sun shone on me throughout my walk.

It was too snowy for me higher up...!

These pictures were taken two days ago. We've had a significant thaw today. It has felt almost balmy with temperatures as high as 5C!

LEST WE NOT FORGET......

Sue here - just for a change!
I'm getting tired of the snow already and the sudden loss of the abundance of colour around about us in the vegetation and the trees.   Here are a few photographs taken before the onslaught of the 'white stuff' last weekend as a reminder of the fading summer and the vibrant shades that accompanied its demise!

Above is a shot of some Cotoneaster in a friend's garden and below you are looking at the main street through Edinbane that for a while was ablaze with autumnal colours in the overhanging trees.  

When Sue and John were here in mid October we all went on a number of walks around Skye and just underneath is a view taken from the cliffs beyond Gillen - with the birch trees in the foreground sporting their golden autumnal jackets......

... .whilst on the ground virtually unseen - (unless crawling around on your knees as I did when I tripped over)

- is a small dew draped spiders web, suspended by the surrounding heather!   

Finally, lets not forget the wonderful skies like a magnificent changing multi coloured umbrella above our heads - with its often fantastic array of oranges, pinks, blues and golds.........  

Above are orange tinted clouds with a snow topped Cuillin languishing underneath and below the main road   just along from Roskhill Barn looking back towards the mountains during a particularly dazzling sunset 

in November!

Sky on fire

Just another Roskhill sunset...

Decorating

This is the painting sort, not tinsel and baubles!

I've been working at Aird View for several days out of the last couple of weeks. I've refurbished the bathroom, adding new tiling and some classier fittings, and also repainted all three bedrooms. I have been staying at the bungalow for three nights at a time while I've been working there - it saves driving backwards and forwards. In spite of the snowy scenery and stunning weather, I've not had the time to go off taking photos, but I'll post a couple taken from just outside the front door of Aird View -

The evenings were amazing... the setting sun turns the snow pink